loving support

[Karina]

What makes Katharine so refreshingly different is the importance she attached throughout her life to the family she was born into, and the credit she gave them (particularly her parents) for making her into the person she became.

Unlike others of her time, no domineering stage mother, no family feuds (unless you count the very mild & temporary version with brother Dick), just continual loving support. Her love of Fenwick and the way she embraced her extended family as her own, the frequent visits home even as she grew older and reached the height of her fame, the way she retreated into the bosom of the family whenever she hit a rough patch or needed space to breathe - wonderfully rare & down-to-earth. With her strong and independent character, she'd have succeeded along any path she chose, but do you think her acting career might have developed along different lines without her firm roots & such loving family support?

[Karina]

Whoops - should read brother Dick of course. No idea how TEXTthingyTEXT got in there!

[Family]

Kate once said that she couldn't claim any success in life , that success belongs to the people who are holding you up .

In regard to Dick, I am not sure that it was Katharine's fault - she supported him for most of her life

[kathfan88]

All the Hepburns had big personalities just like Kath did, but for some reason there didn't seem to be any sibling rivalry between them. I think that it was due to the fact the parents were never trying to upstage each other and they always had respect for others opinions and others in general. That makes a great deal of difference in a home and someones life. And I think that Kath would have grown up differently and I don't think she would have gone as for if it hadn't been for her extremely stimulating upbringing that let her amazing personality shine through.

[dreamer]

In Katharine Hepburn by Michael Freedland (yes, read the end first - bad habit) She is quoted saying; "When I close the book, I'll never think I've been an actress. Others, of course, will."

What I think/mean by this - she did not feel special because of her profession, with her family she was just one of them. And that she did have money meant only to her that she could do what she wanted but not that she was above someone. My feeling is - She loved beeing among them not feeling special, not getting the usual big attention, she got elsewhere.

Just as she once said something like: I have enough if I can help someone young getting started I would.

If I have miss-remembered something in the last sentence please do correct me!

[di]

She came from such an interesting background. Her parents were so unusual and different. Her whole family had strong personalities for sure. She was connected to Hartford and Old Saybrook and Fenwick and never broke that connection. I cannot even think of a word that makes her so different from any other actress to me.